Benito Carbone

Benito Carbone’s football journey has spanned countries, cultures and generations, but one chapter still stands above all others: Sheffield Wednesday.

Long before coaching Inter Milan’s youth and shaping Italy’s next generation, one teammate and one club changed everything.

That teammate was Paolo Di Canio who helped Sheffield Wednesday became a second home. He’s now explained all to Gazzetta dello Sport.

Paolo Di Canio and the partnership that changed everything

Carbone doesn’t hesitate when it talks about Di Canio. The pair played together at the Owls for one and a half seasons, from August 1997 to September 1998.

Carbone was already at Hillsborough, having joined in October 1996. Di Canio arrived in August 1997, and the connection was instant. First up, was a famous unveiling photo that saw the pair pictured sharing an uncooked frozen pizza. Then came the connection on the pitch.

Together, the two Italians formed one of the most creative and fondly remembered partnerships in Sheffield Wednesday’s modern history. In their only full season together, Di Canio led the club with 14 goals, while Carbone contributed nine of his own.

According to the latter, the connection was instant, instinctive and almost telepathic.

“Our families were...